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August 13, 2007
Gathering of the Vibes - Sunday evening
Well, my first Gathering of the Vibes ended tonight at around 8 and I'm kind of looking forward to a little normalcy after a hectic four days at Seaside Park.
Since filing my story for Monday's Connecticut Post, I've finally had the chance to enjoy a decent meal, do some laundry, clean up around the apartment and spend some quality time with the pooch.
My feet are killing me, I'm so tired I can't sleep and yet, I think I'll miss the controlled insanity of the Vibes. Walking around the site, talking to campers, constantly trying to arrange my writing chores around the times that my favorite bands will perform. In hindsight, it was all kind of fun.
But in less than 12 hours, I'll be back at my desk for another 40-hour work week. Then I'll most certainly be missing the Vibes.
But four days seems like just the right amount of time for this event. I think I need a break from large crowds, stilt-walkers, hula hoops and young women walking around wearing bikini tops. (All right, I'm lying about that last part.)
I hope the festival returns to Bridgeport next year. Now that I'm no longer a Vibes virgin, I'm sure I'll have even more fun the second time around.
Posted by Sean on 1:48 AM | Comments (0)
August 12, 2007
Gathering of the Vibes - Sunday afternoon
I don't know if it's the heat or the three solid days of partying, but the Vibes has definitely hit the wall in terms of the energy level. And you have to figure a good portion of the people there have long drives ahead of them after tonight's Los Lobos show.
(License plates I have seen: Connecticut (obviously), Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Mississippi, Virginia, North Carolina, Florida and Ontario, Canada.)
I actually thought more campers would have gotten a jump on traffic by leaving earlier today. Sunday's lineup was strong, but all the Grateful Dead-related bands were finished after Bob Weir and Ratdog's show late Saturday night.
I'm just hoping to not get caught in a traffic nightmare after Los Lobos. Wish me luck, I'm going back in.
Posted by Sean on 5:39 PM | Comments (0)
Gathering of the Vibes - Saturday night
I caught the second half of Keller William’s set at the Gathering of the Vibes late Saturday afternoon and, while he has a sizeable following, I don’t quite get him. It’s obvious he’s a good guitarist, but it’s all just a bit too goofy for me.
Williams’ performance did end on a high note, but that was mainly because he was joined by Bob Weir of Grateful Dead and Ratdog fame. Williams is presently on tour with Weir and Ratdog, so the collaboration was no surprise. Still, the two did an excellent version of The Dead’s “Scarlet Begonias” that was one of Saturday’s highlights.
Next up was Les Claypool, of Primus, Oysterhead and several other projects, and I really took to his offbeat show.
At first.
After a while, it just started to seem monotonous. He’s one of the most interesting bass players I have ever seen and he’s got an out-there personality – he wore a pig mask for most of his time on stage – but I just lost interest after about 30 minutes.
It was nice that he talked about his returning to Bridgeport – he was here for Vibes 2000 – and joked about how special sixth anniversaries were and he managed to make a connection with the huge crowd. His demeanor changed about an hour into his show when he apparently was hit with some sort of debris and, while remaining calm, said that whoever threw it should have instead stuck it . . . well, let’s just say put it elsewhere and leave it at that.
Claypool’s set also ended strongly and, once again, it was thanks to members of Ratdog, who joined him for the last three or four songs. For Claypool’s last tune, a whacked-out cover of The Beatles’ “Tomorrow Never Knows,” Weir himself joined in after being introduced by Claypool as “Mr. Edward Van Halen.”
Then it was finally time for Ratdog, which seemed to be the band most of the thousands at Seaside Park were there to see. Vibes master of ceremonies Wavy Gravy led the crowd in sending out some good thoughts to Ratdog’s missing guitarist, Mark Karan, who is sitting out this summer tour as he battles throat cancer, before Weir and Co. took the stage.
After a bit of a warm-up jam, Weir offered the first of his Grateful Dead songs, “Shakedown Street,” on which he was joined by former Dead singer Donna Jean Godchaux, who seems to have sat in with just about every band during the festival’s first three days.
Though I’m sure I don’t qualify as a Deadhead – I only went to one show – I am a fan of The Dead’s music and enjoyed Weir and Ratdog. But as midnight neared, I’d seen and heard enough and started to work my way to the exit.
I would have liked to have made it to the end of Ratdog’s performance, but I had a ratty old dog at home that needed to be tended to after too many hours on her own.
Posted by Sean on 5:17 AM | Comments (1)
August 11, 2007
Gathering of the Vibes - early Saturday evening
There may have been a few types of music spread out over the Gathering of the Vibes' three stages, but the more Grateful Dead-like the music, the happier the concert-goers seem to be.
Grateful Dead percussionist Mickey Hart brought his band to the Terrapin Stage Friday night and had local singer Jen Durkin helping out on vocals. The show itself was nothing special, as Hart himself noted, saying the band "was very unrehearsed, but enthusiastic."
Durkin would later lead Deep Banana Blackout out for one of the funk group's rare reunion shows.
It seemed that everything was leading up to Saturday night's show by another Grateful Dead alum, Bob Weir. The performance by his band, Ratdog, seems to be the most eagerly awaited of all the acts in the lineup. It should be interesting, to say the least.
Posted by Sean on 6:49 PM | Comments (0)
Gathering of the Vibes - Saturday afternoon
4:30. I stopped by a promotional booth run by the Magic Hat Brewing Company of Burlington, Vt., and took part in a game of chance. If you sign up for the company’s newsletter, you get three rolls of a pair of dice and if you total nine — after a brand of their beer — you win what most certainly would be a fabulous prize.
Well, my luck held true to form and I rolled a five, an eight and another five. I didn’t win anything, but I was offered a consolation prize of a Magic Hat condom.
I know alcohol can lead to unexpected pregnancies, so I’m certainly not going to take any chances with a free prophylactic given to losers of a dice game by a beer company. Even if it is a Magic Hat.
Posted by Sean on 6:42 PM | Comments (0)
